Proposal description
This proposal is cross-posted from https://www.dash.org/forum/threads/core-team-premises-august.39329/
Background
This proposal funds the Dash Core Group’s property lease budget. This budget account has not been funded since March 2017 and has been exclusively used to pay for the monthly rent and associated services for Dash Core Group offices in Scottsdale, Arizona. We just re-signed a lease to expand to 1 executive suite, 1 office, 2 cubicles and 2 “hot-seats”. This expansion was driven by the need for additional desks as we now have critical mass in the Phoenix area including Ryan Taylor (CEO), Glenn Austin (CFO), Bob Carroll (CTO), Alexander Chopan (Head of Strategy), Kelly Kopp (Head of HR), Robert VadeBonCoeur (HR), Bradley Zastrow (Head of Business Development, part-time in AZ), and 3 Dash interns (Nakul Chalwa, Eric Cowan, Hunter Colleran).
Description of the property
SkySong is a 1.2 million square foot mixed-use live/work/play facility associated with Arizona State University located in Scottsdale, Arizona. It is operated as a non-profit incubator for innovation and technology, ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies. Its non-profit status enables SkySong to charge tenants well below market rates for Class A office space. The facility is in high demand, and all SkySong buildings are near full occupancy.
We believe there are several advantages to maintaining our presence at SkySong. First, there are clear productivity gains from having members of our team on-site to work directly with each other. Second, we conduct many professional meetings with prospective partners and this allows us to receive visitors and host events in a business setting.
Skysong in particular is a good location for several reasons. First, it provides the flexibility of month-to-month leases. Second, SkySong can be instrumental in providing tenants access to the resources available through Arizona State University and other economic development programs that can meaningfully assist the project. As an example, all 3 of the interns working for Dash in Phoenix are currently attending ASU.
As a quick recap from our initial funding proposal, these are the key highlights of the space:
https://www.dash.org/forum/threads/proposal-dash-offices-at-asus-skysong-innovation-center.12502/
What does this proposal fund?
This proposal will fund semi-annual premises expenses for SkySong.
If you have any questions, please direct them to @glennaustin in this Dash Forum post to ensure we are notified of your request.
Requested funding is as follows for the August 2nd budget cycle:
· 127.05 Dash for core team premises ($31,200 USD @ $245.572 per Dash)
· 5.00 Dash proposal reimbursement
Total: 132.05 Dash
Note: Should any funding remain, we will apply it toward future facilities / rent expenses.
Background
This proposal funds the Dash Core Group’s property lease budget. This budget account has not been funded since March 2017 and has been exclusively used to pay for the monthly rent and associated services for Dash Core Group offices in Scottsdale, Arizona. We just re-signed a lease to expand to 1 executive suite, 1 office, 2 cubicles and 2 “hot-seats”. This expansion was driven by the need for additional desks as we now have critical mass in the Phoenix area including Ryan Taylor (CEO), Glenn Austin (CFO), Bob Carroll (CTO), Alexander Chopan (Head of Strategy), Kelly Kopp (Head of HR), Robert VadeBonCoeur (HR), Bradley Zastrow (Head of Business Development, part-time in AZ), and 3 Dash interns (Nakul Chalwa, Eric Cowan, Hunter Colleran).
Description of the property
SkySong is a 1.2 million square foot mixed-use live/work/play facility associated with Arizona State University located in Scottsdale, Arizona. It is operated as a non-profit incubator for innovation and technology, ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies. Its non-profit status enables SkySong to charge tenants well below market rates for Class A office space. The facility is in high demand, and all SkySong buildings are near full occupancy.
We believe there are several advantages to maintaining our presence at SkySong. First, there are clear productivity gains from having members of our team on-site to work directly with each other. Second, we conduct many professional meetings with prospective partners and this allows us to receive visitors and host events in a business setting.
Skysong in particular is a good location for several reasons. First, it provides the flexibility of month-to-month leases. Second, SkySong can be instrumental in providing tenants access to the resources available through Arizona State University and other economic development programs that can meaningfully assist the project. As an example, all 3 of the interns working for Dash in Phoenix are currently attending ASU.
As a quick recap from our initial funding proposal, these are the key highlights of the space:
- A “premium office”, a “basic office”, 2 cubicles and two workstations in a LEED Silver Certification (class A) building
Locking glass doors, and locking filing cabinets - Seven dedicated phone lines and voicemail system
- Gigabit Ethernet connectivity
- Mail services
- Complementary conference room access
- 24/7 access to the building
- Complementary copier and printer (up to a monthly limit)
- Kitchen facilities including coffee machines
- Shared reception area with sign-in and waiting area
- Free shuttle service between ASU’s main campus (2 miles away) and SkySong
- Free access to a 385 capacity conference facility on site
- Hosting of the Dash InstantSend demo soda machine from TNABC 2016
https://www.dash.org/forum/threads/proposal-dash-offices-at-asus-skysong-innovation-center.12502/
What does this proposal fund?
This proposal will fund semi-annual premises expenses for SkySong.
If you have any questions, please direct them to @glennaustin in this Dash Forum post to ensure we are notified of your request.
Requested funding is as follows for the August 2nd budget cycle:
· 127.05 Dash for core team premises ($31,200 USD @ $245.572 per Dash)
· 5.00 Dash proposal reimbursement
Total: 132.05 Dash
Note: Should any funding remain, we will apply it toward future facilities / rent expenses.
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Discussion: Should we fund this proposal?
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This proposal is for $33,000 USD for 1 office and 2 cubicles . It mentions 2 hot seats but I don't know what that means. Internet is included.
That is extremely expensive for what we are getting.
Are these office spaces going to be used every day of the year by DASH staff or are they only going to be used when you want to have a meeting? If they are not going to be used every day then could you not look at an alternative e.g. paying as you need to use the work space? This could be cheaper than paying for an entire year for work space and facilities that may not be used every day.
Whenever I wanted to have a meeting I hire executive rooms with Regus. It works considerably cheaper on a "pay as you go" than renting a space for the entire year that was vacant most of the time.
I imagine the only time core need office space is if they want to have a meeting with a new client or if they want to meet with other core members to discuss the project. If this is the case then a "pay as you go" model could be considerably cheaper than paying for the entire year where these offices spaces we are paying for are left vacant when not being used.
We use the facilities about 4 times a week. We have provided a list of the employees that are in the Phoenix area. Most of us, here in Phoenix, find it productive to work in close proximity to our colleagues.
Why is this important information not included in the proposal description?
This proposal will fund semi-annual premises expenses for SkySong. “
Are you aware that people cannot give feedback on your posting? Perhaps you could check the settings of the post and see if comments are enabled?
https://www.dash.org/forum/threads/dcg-budget-planning-update-q3-2018.39421/#post-192324
I think its also important to keep relations with ASU. In the future I hope we have the funding available to fund scholarships for the brightest young minds in the world.